Page 18 of The Witch's Cottage
Because I may have justtotallyruined things with him.
A second passes, then two. My teeth slip out to bite my bottom lip.
Alden reaches up to touch his face, and his fingertips come away painted yellow.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he says, voice low as his brown eyes slide up to meet mine.
Dread curls in my belly. I didn’t mean to upset him. “I’m sor—”
Before I can get the words out, paint speckles my apron. I blink in surprise.
Alden is pulling his arm back, aiming for me, and—
Splat!
A big wad of paint spatters across me, getting in my hair and on both my cheeks.
“You. Did.Not.” Mouth open in surprise, I reach into my paint can with my bare hand. “You’ll pay for that.”
“We’ll see,” Alden says. And then he takes off running.
I sprint after him, feet whispering through the grass and over the fallen leaves. But he’s much too fast for me, and I know I’ll never catch him. So instead, I huddle beside a blackberry bush next to the cottage, and there I wait insilence, paint dripping from my hand, waiting for my moment to attack.
Sure enough, Alden comes running around the side of the cottage, looking over his shoulder for me. He doesn’t even see it coming.
Leaping up from my hiding place, I fling the paint, and this time it splatters his tunic and one of his broad arms. The yellow is made even more vibrant against his rich summer-brown skin, and for the very first time, I get to see his white teeth when he tips his head back and laughs.
Areallaugh.
It’s deep and rumbling and better than I could ever have imagined.
He just laughs harder when I skip to his side and press my hand to his cheek, leaving a sunny handprint behind.
This is amazing. I didn’t know he could laugh like this,belike this.
It’s like I’ve only ever been able to read the outside of Alden’s book, but now that I’ve opened it up, I’m even more intrigued by what I’ve found.
When he finally stops laughing and wipes a tear from his eye, he looks down at me and smiles. “We’re a mess.”
“At least it’s a happy mess.”
Brown hair tousled and eyes shining, he says, “I have something to show you.”
I blink and raise my eyebrows. “Like,now?”
His only response is to reach for my hand, and not a world exists in which I wouldn’t happily let him take it.
Chapter 11
Alden
I DON’T SAY ANYTHING AS I lead Aurora through the forest, and surprisingly, neither does she. I’ve gotten so used to her lighthearted chatter that I keep glancing back at her to make sure she’s okay. And every time I do, I find her green eyes wide and glittering as she gazes around the forest, like it’s a mysterious world she’s hungry to explore.
I’ve lived in Faunwood my whole life, and I know this land like the back of my hand. Having Aurora here with me, though, almost makes it feel brand-new. She’s fascinated by all the spring shoots poking up through the thick dead matter on the forest floor, and when I see my surroundings through her eyes, I can’t deny the magic in everything around us.
I can’t deny the magic inher.
She doesn’t ask where we’re going, but I wouldn’t have told her anyway. I want it to be a surprise. It’s a bit of a walk, and I’m concerned about her bare feet, but she doesn’t falter once; instead, she moves across the forest floor like she’s one with it, like every step is part of a dance only she andthe forest know. It makes my bumbling steps even louder and clumsier in comparison.
